Clodagh Hawes family speakout

I am so sad for them. Everyone on the outside could see the madness of that monster being buried with his innocent family but they were (understandably) to deep in grief to make that decision. I'm so sorry they have to live with this horror

I found it really difficult to read the stories at the time that all seemed focus on the killer and his life and what he must have been going through. The press took advantage of a family in the midst of shock and devastation.

I am so glad they have been able to finally speak out on behalf of their sister and daughter. And beautiful, too, to finally see some photographs of the boys with their lovely mother - in the original reporting it was all him and Clodagh was strikingly absent from the narrative.

I'm or Irish but saw this thread in Active Convos. It sounds awful, gruesome, heinous. Looking back at press coverage though, the mother/mother in law had previously been reported as saying she forgave this brute. Is it possible to take back forgiveness?

What I gathered from the article is that they are now aware of more circumstances surrounding the incident than they did at the time.

The media coverage was extremely sympathetic to the man, as though he had a tragic breakdown, which is perhaps why, in her grief, she said that. But in fact it seemed as though he had planned it and had his reasons for doing so.

Lots of people may experience a 'fall from grace' in their life time and don't 'have a breakdown' or even if they do don't kill their family in the most gruesome way imaginable - the apologist reporting is/was outrageous.It's situations like this I wish I believed in a hell.

Yes to having his body moved if that were to reduce the distress for Clodagh's family.

The Belfast Telegraph didn't pull its punches and mentioned that this 'oh poor Alan' approach merely showed that mysogyny in Ireland is alive and well. A 'pillar of society' does not use a hatchet and knives to kill his family.

The police over here call these kinds of men 'annihialators' - they plan the murders meticulously including those of their children. Because they think of family members first and foremost as their possessions.

It reads very much as though he had a guilty or shameful secret, and they are still protecting him (by not revealing what it was). I wonder why. I too hope they can get his body exhumed and moved away from the family he massacred.

I cannot bear to look at the 6 year old's face and his shining eyes (my DS4 is 6)

I feel conflicted about whatever dirty secret he had: on the one hand I want it to be shouted from the roof tops to make sure that his 'pillar of the community' reputation is ruined, even post-mortem. Otoh, I do understand that that would not help and may cause distress to surviving relatives.